Playoff History
Five out of seven yearsLast Appearance
2002, lost in WNBA Finals

2003 In Review:What Went Right?

Becky Hammon put on a shooting clinic during the first 11 games of the 2003 campaign as she connected on 57.5 percent of her field goal attempts, 46.9 percent of her three-point attempts and 95.1 percent of her free throw attempts.

Hammon

K.B. Sharp became the first Liberty rookie to play more than 200 minutes since the inaugural season of 1997. In 398 minutes on the year (13.3 per game), she averaged 3.1 points and posted a 1.42 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Liberty plucked Elena Baranova in the Dispersal Draft prior to the 2003 season, and the 6-5 Russian averaged 8.4 points per game while connecting on 36.3 percent of her three-pointers, grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game and blocking 1.3 shots per contest.

What Went Wrong?

The Liberty’s season effectively came to an end on June 27 when Hammon tore her ACL. New York was 6-4 when Hammon went down and finished the year dropping 14 of its final 24 games

Tari Phillips’ field goal percentage plummeted 94 points from 49.1 in 2002 to 39.7 in 2003 – the 11th largest drop in league history for a player who played 500 minutes in each season. As a result, her scoring average of 11.3 points per game was the lowest she’s ever recorded in a Liberty uniform.

New York was the worst offensive rebounding team in the league, grabbing just 26.9 percent of the available offensive rebounds as compared to the league average of 31.8 percent.

Head Coach

Richie Adubato

2003 Starting Line-up

G

Teresa Weatherspoon

G

Vickie Johnson

C

Tari Phillips

F

Tamika Whitmore

F

Crystal Robinson

Key 2003 Reserves

G

Becky Hammon

F

Elena Baranova

Key Additions

C

Ann Wauters (DD)

Key Losses

G

Teresa Weatherspoon

Looking Ahead To 2004:Key Questions

Phillips

Tari Phillips' drop-off in field goal percentage last season is cause for concern. Most players that see their shooting percentages fall the way Phillips’ did, gain back a decent size chunk of that percentage the following season. However, Phillips turned 35 this past March and has had to go it alone in the paint for New York for most of the past four seasons. Can Phillips rebound from a forgettable 2003 season?

Along those same lines, how will Ann Wauters perform in her Liberty debut? New York selected the 6-5 Wauters in the Dispersal Draft, and even after a season away from the WNBA, she’s still just 23 years old. If Wauters can take some of the pressure off of Phillips in the post, New York’s offense will be the better for it.

Some of the New York faithful have been calling for Teresa Weatherspoon’s role to be reduced for the past two seasons. As the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for. You may get it.” The post-Spoon Liberty era begins this summer, as New York’s vocal leader signed with the Los Angeles Sparks as an unrestricted free agent during the offseason. Can a combination of Hammon and K.B. Sharp handle the point guard duties?